Sparking democracy through documentary since 1966, Kartemquin is a collaborative community that empowers documentary makers who create stories that foster a more engaged and just society.
Our films have received four Academy Award® nominations and won several major prizes, including five Emmys® and two Peabody Awards. Recognized as a leading advocate for independent public media, Kartemquin has helped hundreds of artists via its filmmaker development programs.
Recent productions include 2019 Oscar® nominee Minding the Gap, and 2018 Oscar® nominees Abacus: Small Enough to Jail and Edith + Eddie, and 2018's best reviewed TV series, America to Me. Other recent productions include the Emmy-winning Life Itself, The Homestretch, The Interrupters, and The Trials of Muhammad Ali, the Dupont award-winning series Hard Earned; and Raising Bertie, All the Queen’s Horses, Keep Talking, and ‘63 Boycott.
Kartemquin is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization based in Chicago. www.kartemquin.com

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At the Death House Door

At the Death House Door follows the remarkable career journey of Carroll Pickett, who served 15 years as the death house chaplain to the infamous "Walls" prison unit in Huntsville, Texas. During that time he presided over 95 executions, including the very first lethal injection done anywhere in t...

Hoop Dreams

First exhibited at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the audience award for best documentary, Kartemquin's Hoop Dreams is the remarkable true story of two American dreamers; an intimate reflection of contemporary American inner-city culture, following two ordinary young men on the cou...

No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson

On February 13, 1993, 17-year-old Bethel High School basketball star Allen Iverson entered a Hampton, Virginia bowling alley with several classmates. It was supposed to be an ordinary evening, but it became a night that defined Iverson's young life: a quarrel soon erupted into a brawl pitting Ive...